Food safety interventions for Maine-grown, minimally processed foods

My goal is to investigate emerging and underutilized methods for promotion of microbial food safety with a strongly applied focus. Consistent foodborne disease outbreaks attributed to fresh foods highlight the fact that challenges faced by growers and processors are urgent, and work on interventions to combat safety challenges has the potential to manifest immediate benefits if undertaken with industry processes in mind. I hope to investigate treatments and processing methods with wide applicability across product types and to collaborate with industry members to address specific concerns as they arise.1.Isolate and characterize organisms, including bacteriophage and bacterial isolates, with potential for application to food as biocontrol agents.2.Understand the applicability of biocontrol measures as pre- or postharvest treatments for fresh and frozen produce safety.3.Explore alternative washing technologies and aqueous treatments for fresh product safety.